Fixed makes no sense to me, rotating maps often still show which direction s North so you don't really lose any information by going with that.
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Mini maps: rotation-enabled or fixed?
- Thread starter AuthenticM
- Start date
Ok, im gonna explain why fixed map is always preferable in adventure and action games, while rotating works perfectly for google maps, driving games and flight games.
In adventure games with multiple paths and the option to go back the same way you came is important that the map is always the same exact position.
In google maps, you never need to go back the same road if its not because you fucked up or yo are in a cul de sac, and the map, something you should not watch at all times while driving has a line indicating were you go or/and a voice telling you left and right. If the map was mot rotating the left and right idication would make zero sense.
But in the majority of the games, you dont have a voice telling you to go left and right. And the biggest failure of a rotating map. Just imagine you are inside a cave with multiple routes and you are getting treasure, going back, etc. How the fuck do you know which part of the cave you need to go after multiple rotations during combat or seeking treasure.
Those asking for rotating maps in hyrule warriors.... wtf! Nah, you know, hou should get the option, just so you can see with your own eyes how shit would that be after fightong 100 enemoes in the area, you need to choose one of the 3 or 4 exits. If you waste more than 10 seconds rotating your camera trying to see were you came from, then you fucked up.
In adventure games with multiple paths and the option to go back the same way you came is important that the map is always the same exact position.
In google maps, you never need to go back the same road if its not because you fucked up or yo are in a cul de sac, and the map, something you should not watch at all times while driving has a line indicating were you go or/and a voice telling you left and right. If the map was mot rotating the left and right idication would make zero sense.
But in the majority of the games, you dont have a voice telling you to go left and right. And the biggest failure of a rotating map. Just imagine you are inside a cave with multiple routes and you are getting treasure, going back, etc. How the fuck do you know which part of the cave you need to go after multiple rotations during combat or seeking treasure.
Those asking for rotating maps in hyrule warriors.... wtf! Nah, you know, hou should get the option, just so you can see with your own eyes how shit would that be after fightong 100 enemoes in the area, you need to choose one of the 3 or 4 exits. If you waste more than 10 seconds rotating your camera trying to see were you came from, then you fucked up.
Rotating the map would just makes it more confusing, and is a poor idea. Always give me the set layout and let me move about.
A fixed minimap helps to ground your character and more easily perceive how far you've travelled. A rotating minimap is easier to use in combat.
A great game would probably use neither.
A great game would probably use neither.
Left and right while driving with a fixed north still makes perfect sense, whether you're looking at the map or not. Either you're not, a voice tells you to turn left, so okay, you turn left (why is that any different with or without rotation..?). Or you're looking at the map, see you need to turn left, and are an adult who has developed spatial awareness and positioning beyond the capabilities of a 6 year old, so can still work out which direction left is if you're travelling in a direction that isn't north.
It's only a problem if you've never learned map reading, and have become reliant on a rotating map while driving because that's all you've ever used. And at that point you're giving up the advantages of a fixed north map like being able to quickly and easily re-route manually in the event of road closures (you know which direction you need to drive in, and a fixed north compass makes quick map reading and route planning at a glance much easier).
tl;dr: Fixed north is always the better option. You're training your brain to rely on an inferior system if you use rotation.
I noticed that I get slightly nauseous from rotating maps. For some reason this doesn't happen if I don't have any map. I'm the same with car GPS honestly. I constantly swap between fixed and rotating depending on if I'm trying to figure out where I am in the world or which direction the next turn is. I guess in games I'm constantly in "trying to figure out where I am in the world"-mode unless it's some kind of driving game.
My best guess is that this has to do with trying to picture myself on a mental map. If a game has any type of map/minimap, I will constantly try to picture myself on that map. In my head that map is always aligned with north as up and any deviation from that makes me utterly disoriented. Like I don't know my footing or the ground is moving.
If a game doesn't have any type of map system I will try to imagine the world as a 3d space, which does not have any north or west etc. And then try to figure out my position based on my surroundings. Honestly I find this more rewarding and wish it was encouraged more. Since I am no longer trying to align my position to an imaginary north on a flat plane I get less disoriented and less nauseous. I'm only looking at my surroundings and thinking of their relative position to each other.
My best guess is that this has to do with trying to picture myself on a mental map. If a game has any type of map/minimap, I will constantly try to picture myself on that map. In my head that map is always aligned with north as up and any deviation from that makes me utterly disoriented. Like I don't know my footing or the ground is moving.
If a game doesn't have any type of map system I will try to imagine the world as a 3d space, which does not have any north or west etc. And then try to figure out my position based on my surroundings. Honestly I find this more rewarding and wish it was encouraged more. Since I am no longer trying to align my position to an imaginary north on a flat plane I get less disoriented and less nauseous. I'm only looking at my surroundings and thinking of their relative position to each other.
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I always go for fixed when there's the option. Sometimes rotate messes up the map in my head. "Wait, this place is up here?" type of thing. I tried fortnite with rotate for example and it was much harder to grasp where I was with that than fixed.
Imagine walking in a dungeon with a complex layout. It's easier to navigate with fixed patterns than constantly changing ones. The bend that looks like an S will always look like an S, but with a rotating map it will transform into another kind of shape.
I suppose it depends.
I know in Breath of the Wild, I hated the mini map rotating. I would often look at the big map, see a place of interest and try to walk there, but I kept messing up N, S, E and W. Luckily that game gave you the option.
I know in Breath of the Wild, I hated the mini map rotating. I would often look at the big map, see a place of interest and try to walk there, but I kept messing up N, S, E and W. Luckily that game gave you the option.
OP
OP
Hitman 2 and 3 both have fixed options, yes. I'm surprised that H2016 did not have one; I don't remember that when I played it.I'm playing through Hitman 2016 and the rotating minimap infuriates me, I hope there's a fixed option in hitman 2. I'm looking at the main map, mentally mapping the rooms and locations and my path of entry and then when I switch to gameplay the minimap twists around, not looking like a subset of the map I just mentally remembered. Even worse the main map for none of the levels is north aligned so I have to account for the north direction on the twisting minimap differently on each level.
You would think those are the west dorms and east dorms wings right? Nope they are actually south and east wings, the map is north aligned to the northeast.
Did you know that you can play the H2016 maps inside H2 and H3 with all the improvements to gameplay and UI that comes with those games? Your progress from Hitman 2 (including that of the H2016 maps) can also be imported into H3. I would recommend purchasing either 2 or both 2 and 3 and playing the H2016 maps in either of them, if that's an option for you.
I want the minimap to rotate with the camera (and not where the character is facing).
I know some people that does that.
I'm not 100% sure, it's been ages, I just couldn't follow it. You would be heading forward up a street but the map icon would be moving south. My brain couldn't deal with it. What would that be?
Im clearly a fucking weirdo.
Inverted Y axis
Rotating map
It actually irks me when car GPS dont rotate.
Im going forward and always going forward, I am the center of the universe thus everything else must rotate around me.
I dunno how you people have so little self worth you imagine yourself going through life instead of life going around you.
Inverted Y axis
Rotating map
It actually irks me when car GPS dont rotate.
Im going forward and always going forward, I am the center of the universe thus everything else must rotate around me.
I dunno how you people have so little self worth you imagine yourself going through life instead of life going around you.
No one answer. Fixed if there's no GPS-style breadcrumb trail to markers. Rotating if there is.
Rotating map is easier to orient yourself in relation to your objective, be it a quest marker or whatever. "To the northwest" is only useful if you're eyeballing the map constantly. "Slightly off to my right" is easier when you're navigating using mostly the world.
Good question but always fixed. When holding a real map i'm not rotating it upside down when I'm facing south lol, that's exactly what it feels like when I have mini map rotation enabled in a video game
Fixed. I find it helps me learn the layout of the map a lot better and with that i can pay more attention to the game. If my target is North-West I can start heading in that general direction and eventually find my way. With rotating maps i'll just tend to follow a dotted line from A to B and never actually learn where anything is because all I am looking at is the minimap.
Fixed, for god's sake. If the game doesn't let me make it fixed it's sometimes enough to put me off it completely. I find any map, fictional or real-life where up isn't north to be utterly confusing.
I think the latter makes sense if it doesn't feature terrain, but at that point it's not so much a minimap as it's a radar.
... what would it use then? Absolutely nothing, like Dark Souls?
Satnavs guide you and give direction, (mini) maps provide frames of reference.
This whole thread has shown me the light on making minimaps better in my games I develop.
If you wanted the minimap to be fixed, I gotta make sure the player's blip indicator is big enough to differentiate what direction your character is facing towards.
If you wanted the minimap to be rotating, I gotta make sure I slab on "North" somewhere on the minimap's perimeter at all times for you.
Or better, I could just put down 2 minimaps, one fixed, the other rotating, on the same screen, like an evil person. Muhahaha!!
If you wanted the minimap to be fixed, I gotta make sure the player's blip indicator is big enough to differentiate what direction your character is facing towards.
If you wanted the minimap to be rotating, I gotta make sure I slab on "North" somewhere on the minimap's perimeter at all times for you.
Or better, I could just put down 2 minimaps, one fixed, the other rotating, on the same screen, like an evil person. Muhahaha!!